Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Atera vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.4
Atera boosts efficiency and saves costs with remote configurations, fixed fees, automated updates, extended hardware lifespan, and comprehensive features.
Sentiment score
7.3
Quest KACE SMA boosts ROI by enhancing productivity, reducing manual work, and simplifying IT management for rapid adaptation.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.5
Atera's support is highly rated for being responsive, knowledgeable, proactive, and professional, with frequent updates and effective security measures.
Sentiment score
6.6
Quest KACE provides excellent, responsive customer support with quick solutions, appreciated for multilingual assistance including Spanish, and professional service.
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Atera is a scalable, versatile tool suitable for all company sizes, effectively managing diverse endpoints and clients with ease.
Sentiment score
7.2
Quest KACE SMA efficiently scales across organizational sizes, supporting various networks and expansion needs without sacrificing performance.
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Atera is highly stable and reliable with minimal downtime, frequent updates, and rare issues, often external in origin.
Sentiment score
8.1
Quest KACE SMA is stable and reliable, offering quick recovery, responsive support, and effective updates with minimal downtime.
 

Room For Improvement

Atera requires better identity management, integrations, mobile features, network monitoring, automation, interface updates, and enhanced security for a superior user experience.
KACE struggles with scalability, automation, user interface, integration, and support, affecting imaging, patch management, and asset management.
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

Atera's fixed per-technician fee offers predictable, scalable pricing with affordable integrations, making it cost-effective compared to competitors.
Quest KACE SMA offers cost-effective per-device pricing, ideal for large enterprises, though potentially costly for smaller businesses.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Atera offers robust PowerShell commands, seamless remote access, effective automation, cross-platform support, intuitive interface, and proactive issue resolution tools.
Quest KACE SMA simplifies IT management with efficient deployment, inventory, automation, and integration, boosting productivity and resource allocation.
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Atera
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
5th
Ranking in Patch Management
12th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (13th)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
12th
Ranking in Patch Management
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) category, the mindshare of Atera is 7.7%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

JC
Having fewer hardware replacements saves us in annual costs
There is a new version of the interface coming out. I have been asking for a new version for a while. While the interface is nice, I guess the developer thinks one way and the user thinks another. So, I think the interface is getting a big overhaul. This is what they have mentioned in their webinars and stuff. It is in beta, but I'm not on the beta program, so I haven't seen it. I can't really complain about the old interface, but now that I have heard there is a new one coming, all I want is the new one. The one thing that could do with improvement is the reporting. This is from someone who worked in an MSP, where I would want to run a report and be able to just present that to a client. Reports are fine for internal use, where they never leave your company. However, if I was an MSP, I would probably want a little bit more information or the ability to customize some of it without having to edit PDFs.
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solutions are best for your needs.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Retailer
7%
University
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atera?
Pricing is low. It costs around 149 bucks per month.
What needs improvement with Atera?
It should improve its processes.
What is your primary use case for Atera?
Atera is integral to our daily operations. We use it for RMM, PSA, our ticket system, and contact with people. We also integrate it with different products.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MSPs, IT consultants, and IT departments worldwide trust and use Atera. 
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Atera vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.